Economists Tell WSJ That The Economic Recovery Has Been Driven By Stimulus

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal are increasingly optimistic about the pace of the recovery, predicting the U.S. will grow at better than a 3.2% annual rate in each quarter this year.

"The U.S. economy appears to have successfully navigated the adjustment from a recovery driven primarily from economic stimulus and inventory rebuilding to one driven by private domestic demand and rising exports," said economists at Wells Fargo & Co. "Three percent growth looks pretty good, particularly with housing stuck in low gear."

News that the U.S. economy is transitioning from a recovery driven largely by the stimulus bill signed into law in early 2009 to a recovery driven by private demand might come as something of a shock.

After all, the right-wing noise machine spent the better part of the last two years trying to convince us that the no good, very bad stimulus was an unmitigated failure. Never mind that economists all along have credited it with creating millions of jobs that otherwise would have not existed. Forget as well that economists have credited the stimulus with significantly boosting GDP during a deep recession.